THE EXPLANATION of Isaiah Chapter 2

(Note: Rev. Smithson's translation of the Isaiah text is appended below the explanation)

The Mountain of the Lord's House

1. THE Word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2. It shall come to pass in the last days; the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established all the head of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills: and all nations shall flow unto it.

VERSES 1-3. The Word of Jehovah upon Judah and Jerusalem; etc. - These words relate to the New Church to be established by the Lord; by the "mountain of Jehovah" which shall then be established "on the head of the mountains", is understood Zion; and by "Zion" is signified the celestial church, and love to the Lord, which is communicated to those who belong to that church. That this is the primary principle of the church, and that it shall increase and gain strength, is signified by its being "on the head of the mountains, and exalted above the hills." That they who are principled in the good of love shall acknowledge the Lord, and accede to the church, is signified by "all nations shall bow together to that mountain"; "nations" signifying those who are in celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; and "peoples", those who are in spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour. Concerning these latter it is also said, "Many peoples shall go, and shall say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah; to the house of the God of Jacob." That "nations" signify those who are in celestial good, and "peoples", those who are in spiritual good, see above, n. 331. Apocalypse Explained 433.

3. And many peoples shall go, and shall say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah; to the house of the God of Jacob : and He will teach us of His ways; and we will walk in His paths: for from Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

4. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

5. O house of Jacob, come you, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah!

6. For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob: because they are filled from the East, and are soothsayers like the Philistines; and they abound in the children of strangers.

Verses 3-5. These things are spoken concerning the advent of the Lord, and show that they who will be of His New Church are to be instructed in truths, whereby they will be led to heaven. By the "mountain of Jehovah, and the house of the God of Jacob", is signified the church in which is love to the Lord and worship from that love; convocation to that church, and thereby to the Lord is signified by "many peoples going and saying, Come you, and let us go up to that mountain"; that they will be instructed in truths, by which they will be led, is signified by "He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths"; "ways" denoting truths, and "paths" the precepts of life. That they will be taught by the doctrine of the good of love, and by the doctrine of truth from that good, which is for the church out of heaven from the Lord, is signified by "out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem"; the "law out of Zion" denoting the doctrine of the good of love, and the "Word from Jerusalem." truth from that good. That then evils of life and falsities of doctrine. shall be dissipated, is signified by "He they shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many peoples"; "nations" denoting those who, are in evils, and' "peoples" those who are in falsities; thus, abstractedly, evils of life and falsities of doctrine; that then, by the consent of all, combats shall cease, is signified by "they shall beat their swords into, ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks"; "swords" and "spears" denoting falsities from evils combating against truths from good, and vice versa; "ploughshares" denote the goods of the church cultivated by truths, for a "field", which is tilled by the plough, denotes the church as to the good of life;"pruning-hooks denote truths of doctrine, by reason that "trees" in gardens signify perceptions and knowledges of truth; similar things are signified by "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more;"war" signifying combats in every complex. That they shall live a life of wisdom, is signified by "Come you, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah"; the "light of Jehovah" denoting the Divine Truth and to "walk in it", to live according thereto, thus in a life of wisdom. That "war" here signifies spiritual war, which is of falsities against truths and goods, and vice versa, and that "swords" and "spears", which are arms of war, signify such things as are used in spiritual combats, is evident, for the subject treated of is concerning the Lord, and concerning the church to be established by Him, also concerning the doctrine for that church; wherefore it is said - "He shall teach us concerning His ways, and we will walk in His paths"; likewise. - "Come you, and let us 'walk In the light of Jehovah!" Apocalypse Explained 734.

6. For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob: because they are filled from the East, and are soothsayers like the Philistines; and they abound in the children of strangers.

Verse 6. Because they are filled from the East. - That by the "east", or by the "east wind", are signified, in a bad sense, those things which are of lusts and phantasies, is evident from those passages in the Word where the "east" and the "east wind" are mentioned, as in David, "He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven, and by His power He brought in the south wind; He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and fowls of wing like as the sand of the sea." (Psalm 78:26, 27)

That by "flesh", which that wind brought, is signified concupiscences or lusts, and by "fowls of wing" phantasies thence derived, is evident from Moses. (Numbers 11:31-35)

Compare also other passages, as Ezekiel 17:10; 19:12; Hosea 12:1; 13:15; Psalm 48:7; Isaiah 2:6. Arcana Coelestia 5215.

The "sons of strangers" signify those who are out of the church, and do not acknowledge the Lord; also those who are in evils and the falsities of evil, and abstractedly they denote false principles adverse to the truths of the church. Arcana Coelestia 1012, 10287.

7. And his land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to his treasures; and his land is filled with horses, and there is no end to his chariots.

8. And his land is filled with idols; they bow themselves down each to the work of his hands, to that which his fingers have made.

8. And his land is filled with idols; they bow themselves down each to the work of his hands, to that which his fingers have made.

Verses 7, 8. His land is filled with silver and gold, horses and chariots, and idols. - [Signifies that in such a corrupt state of the church, and of the human mind, as is here described, there may be abundance of good and truth in appearance, and also of intelligence and of doctrinals, but only in the external man, not in the internal, still less from the Lord.]

Filled with idols, etc. - In the Word we often read of "sculptured and molten images" and "idols." Those who only understand the Word as to the letter, think that only idols are understood thereby. Idols, however; are not understood thereby, but false doctrines, such as are formed by man himself, when led to do so by some selfish or worldly love. The forrnation of these false dogmas, so that they may cohere together, and appear as true, is signified by a "graven image"; and their conjunction and application to the favour of the love or desires of the external man, so that evils may appear as goods, is signified by a "molten image." This will be evident from consulting the following passages: - Isaiah 2:20; 30:22; 40:19, 20; 44:9-14. Arcana Coelestia 10406.

9. Therefore shall the [mean] man be bowed down, and the [mighty] man shall be humbled; and You will not forgive them.

10. Enter into the rock, and hide yourself in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of His majesty.

11. The eyes of man's loftiness shall be humbled; the height of men shall bow down; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

Verses 10-21. Enter into the rock, and hide yourself in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, etc. - What is meant by all these things cannot possibly be understood except from the internal sense, and from a knowledge of the appearance of things in the spiritual world; for without the internal sense, who could know what is signified by "the day of Jehovah being upon the cedars of Lebanon, and the oaks of Bashan, upon the mountains and hills, upon the tower and wall, and upon the ships of Tarshish, and the images of desire"; and what is meant by "[casting the idols of his silver and gold, which each made for himself to worship], to moles and to bats"; and without a knowledge of the appearance of things in the spiritual world, who could know what is meant by "entering into the rock, and hiding themselves in the dust", "entering into the caverns of rocks, and into holes of the dust", likewise" into the caves of the rocks, and the clefts of the craggy rocks"; but, from the internal sense, it is known that by all these things is described the state of those who are in the love of self and of the world, and thence in evils and falsities at the time of the Last Judgment.

It is therefore said that "the day of Jehovah shall be upon every one that is magnificent and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up and low", [humilem, see note]; the "day of Jehovah" denoting the Last Judgment; "every one magnificent and lofty", those who are in the love of self and the world; and the "lifted up and low", those who are in the love of self-derived intelligence. This is further described by "the day: of Jehovah being upon all cedars high and exalted, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all lofty mountains and high hills, upon every high tower and fortified wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and images of desire." By the "cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan" is signified the pride of self-derived intelligence, - interior pride by the "cedars of Lebanon", and exterior pride by the "oaks of Bashan;": by the "mountains and hills" are signified the loves of self and of the world; and the evils and falsities thence derived, as was shown above, n. 405; by the "tower and wall" are signified falsities of doctrine confirmed; by the "ships of Tarshish and images of desire" are signified the knowledges and perceptions of the falsities from evils. Their worship from evils and falsities is signified by "the idols which they made for themselves to bow down to", and by "the moles and the bats"; worship grounded in such things as are from self-derived intelligence is signified by "the idols they made for themselves to bow down to; and the evils and falsities of doctrine in which their worship is grounded, are slgnIfied by "the moles and the bats", because the sight of these animals is in darkness, and they shun the light. Judgment upon them is described by "They shall enter into the caverns of rocks, and into the holes of the dust", likewise "into the caves of the rocks, and into the clefts of the craggy rocks"; and by "entering into the caverns of rocks and holes of the dust", is signified the damnation of those who are in evils and falsities originating in the love of self and of the world, and in the pride of self-derived intelligence, for the hells of such appear as "caverns in rocks", and the entrances to them as the "caves of rocks, and clefts of craggy rocks." "rocks and craggy rocks" [petrae et rupesJ also signify the falsities of faith and of doctrine, and "dust" signifies what is cursed or damned. Apocalypse Explained 410.

12. For the day of Jehovah of Hosts is upon everyone magnificent and lofty, and upon everyone that is exalted; and he shall be humbled ;

13. And upon all the cedars of- Lebanon, the high and the exalted; and upon all the oaks of Bashan ;

14. And upon all the lofty mountains, and upon all the high hills;

Verses 12-17. - By the "day of Jehovah" is understood the advent of the Lord, when the Last Judgment was accomplished by Him; that this was accomplished by the Lord, when He was in the world, may be seen in the work on the Last Judgment 46. In this passage, those within the church upon whom Judgment was executed, are recounted; by the "cedars of Lebanon, high and exalted" are signified those who boast themselves from self-derived intelligence; and by the "oaks of Bashan, "those who boast from science; for "cedars", in the Word, are predicated of the rational man, and "oaks", of the natural man; and intelligence belongs to the rational man, and science to the natural man.

By "the high tower and the fortified wall" are signified confirmed principles of the false, consequently all those who are in them. By the "Ships of Tarshish", and by the "images' of desire, are signified the false doctrinals favouring the delights of earthly loves. The destruction of conceit originating in self-derived intelligence and in scence, is understood by "the loftiness of man [homo] shall bow down, and the height of men [vir] shall be humbled"; that all intelligence and science is from the Lord, is signified by "Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day." It is supposed that science is from man, but science, so far as it serves for the attainment of intelligence in which is the perception of truth, is from the Lord alone. Apocalypse Explained 514.

It is to be observed that all who are in the love of self, especially who are in the love of ruling, when they come into the spiritual world, are extremely desirous of elevating themselves into high places, this being implanted or inherent in that love; hence also to "be of a high and e!ated mind", and to "aspire after high things", are expressions used in common discourse, The real cause why there is such a desire or lust in the love of ruling is, because they who are principled therein, wish to make themselves gods, and God is in the highest. That "mountains" and "hills" signify those loves and the evils thereof, is evident from its being said that "the day of Jehovah Zebaoth shall be upon every one that is magnificent and lofty, and upon all the lofty mountains, and upon all the high hills:" to what purpose else could it be said that "the day of Jehovah should be upon mountains and hills"? Apocalypse Explained 405.

15. And upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall;

16. And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all images of desire.

17. And the loftiness of man shall bow down, and the height of men shall be humbled: and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

18. And the idols shall utterly pass away, [as in smoke].

Verse 15. That a "tower" here also denotes the worship of self, appears from the signification of a tower; the worship of self consisting in a man's exalting himself above others, so as to be worshipped; therefore self-love, which is haughtiness and pride, is called "height", "loftiness", and "exaltation", and is described by all those things which are high, as in Isaiah 2:11-18. The reason why self-love in worship, or the worship of self, is called a "tower", is, because a "city" signifies doctrine, and formerly cities were fortified with towers, in which were guards; towers also were built in the boundaries or confines of a country, wherefore they were called "towers of the guards, or watchmen." Moreover, when the church of the Lord is compared to a "vineyard", the things appertaining to worship and to the preservatIon thereof, are compared to a "wine-press and to a tower [in a good sense] in a vineyard", as appears from Isaiah 5:1, 2; Matthew 21:23; Mark 12:1. Arcana Coelestia 1306.

[As to the further meaning of a "tower", see below, Chapter Isaiah 5:2, the Exposition.]

19. And they shall go into the caverns of rocks, and into holes of the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory? His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth.

Verse 19: The reason why to "hide themselves in the caverns of rocks", etc., signifies to be in evils, and in the faIses of evil, is, because they who in the sight of the world have pretended to be in the good of love, and yet were in evil, after death hide themselves in dens and caverns; and they who have pretended that they were in the truths of faith, and yet were in the falsities of evils, hide themselves in rocks in the mountains.; the entrances appear like holes in the earth, and fissures in mountains, into which they crawl like serpents, and hide themselves there. That such places are inhabited by them, I have frequently seen. Hence it is that by "dens" or "caves", are signified the evils in such, and by "holes and fissures", or "clefts", the falsities of evil. In the .followIng passage:Isaiah 2:19, 21; 7:19; 32:14; Jeremiah 16:16, 17; 49:16. Apocalypse Revealed 338.

20. In that day shall a man cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which they have made each for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

21. To go into caves of the rocks, and into clefts of the craggy rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth.

22. Cease you from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for of what account is he to be made?

Verse 20. By "idols", in the Word, are signified false [principles] of worship, and therefore to worship idols, signifies worship grounded in falsities; and by "adoring idols of gold, of silver, of brass, of stone, and of wood", is signified worship grounded in falsities of all kinds, and taken collectively, worship grounded in mere falsities; moreover, the materials of which idols were made, their forms, and their garments, among the ancients, represented falsities of religion, in which their worship was grounded. "Idols of gold" signified falsities concerning things divine; "idols of silver", falsities concerning things spiritual; "idols of brass", falsities concerning charity; "idols of stone", falsities concerning faith; and "idols of wood", falsities concerning good works. In all these falsities they are principled who do not do the work of repentance, that is, shun evils as sins against God. "Graven images" and "molten images", which were idols, have this signification, in a spiritual sense, in the following passages:

"Every man is become foolish from science; every founder is made ashamed by the graven image: for his molten image is a lie, neither is there breath in them; they are vanity, the work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish." Jeremiah 10:14, 15; 51:17, 18. (See also Jeremiah 10:3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10) Apocalypse Revealed 459.

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Isaiah Chapter 2

1. THE Word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2. It shall come to pass in the last days; the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established all the head of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills: and all nations shall flow unto it.

3. And many peoples shall go, and shall say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah; to the house of the God of Jacob : and He will teach us of His ways; and we will walk in His paths: for from Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

4. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

5. O house of Jacob, come you, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah!

6. For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob: because they are filled from the East, and are soothsayers like the Philistines; and they abound in the children of strangers.

7. And his land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to his treasures; and his land is filled with horses, and there is no end to his chariots.

8. And his land is filled with idols; they bow themselves down each to the work of his hands, to that which his fingers have made.

8. And his land is filled with idols; they bow themselves down each to the work of his hands, to that which his fingers have made.

9. Therefore shall the [mean] man be bowed down, and the [mighty] man shall be humbled; and You will not forgive them.

10. Enter into the rock, and hide yourself in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of His majesty.

11. The eyes of man's loftiness shall be humbled; the height of men shall bow down; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

12. For the day of Jehovah of Hosts is upon everyone magnificent and lofty, and upon everyone that is exalted; and he shall be humbled ;

13. And upon all the cedars of- Lebanon, the high and the exalted; and upon all the oaks of Bashan ;

14. And upon all the lofty mountains, and upon all the high hills;

15. And upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall;

16. And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all images of desire.

17. And the loftiness of man shall bow down, and the height of men shall be humbled: and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

18. And the idols shall utterly pass away, [as in smoke].

19. And they shall go into the caverns of rocks, and into holes of the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory? His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth.

20. In that day shall a man cast the idols of his silver, and the idols of his gold, which they have made each for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

21. To go into caves of the rocks, and into clefts of the craggy rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth.

22. Cease you from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for of what account is he to be made?

5135. 'For I have indeed been taken away by theft' means that evil caused celestial things to become alienated. This is clear from the representation of 'Joseph', who says this about himself, as the celestial within the natural, dealt with in 5086, 5087, 5106, and consequently the celestial things there; and from the meaning of 'being taken away by theft' as undergoing alienation caused by evil. For 'to commit theft' means to alienate, while 'theft' itself means the evil which causes alienation, as well as meaning evil which lays claim to the things existing there in the natural. 'Theft' means an alienation caused by evil that happens in the place which such evil takes possession of; for it expels everything good and true and fills up that place with evils and falsities. 'Theft' also means its laying claim to what belongs to others; for it takes to itself everything good and true in that place and makes such its own as well as attaching it to evils and falsities. But to enable anyone to know what is meant by 'theft' in the spiritual sense, a statement must be made about what happens to evils and falsities when they enter in and take possession of a place, and also when they lay claim to everything good and true there.

[2] From infancy to childhood, and sometimes on into early youth, a person is absorbing forms of goodness and truth received from parents and teachers, for during those years he learns about those forms of goodness and truth and believes them with simplicity - his state of innocence enabling this to happen. It inserts those forms of goodness and truth into his memory; yet it lodges them only on the edge of it since the innocence of infancy and childhood is not an internal innocence which has an influence on the rational, only an external one which has an influence solely on the exterior natural, 2306, 3183, 3494, 4563, 4797. When however the person grows older, when he starts to think for himself and not, as previously, simply in the way his parents or teachers do, he brings back to mind and so to speak chews over what he has learned and believed before, and then he either endorses it, has doubts about it, or refuses to accept it. If he endorses it, this is an indication that he is governed by good, but if he refuses to accept it, that is an indication that he is governed by evil. If however he has doubts about what he has learned and believed before, it is an indication that he will move subsequently either into an affirmative attitude of mind or else into a negative one.

[3] The truths that a person learns and believes in his earliest years when he is a young child but which later on he either endorses, has doubts about, or refuses to accept, are in particular these: There is God, and He is one; He created everything; He rewards those who do what is good and punishes those who do things that are bad; there is life after death, when the bad go to hell and the good go to heaven, and so there is a hell and a heaven; the life after death lasts for ever; also, people ought to pray every day and to do so in a humble way; they ought to keep the sabbath day holy, honour their parents, and not commit adultery, kill, or steal; and many other truths like these. Such truths are learned and absorbed by a person from earliest childhood; but if, when he starts to think for himself and to lead his own life, he endorses them, adding to them further truths of a more interior kind, and leads a life in conformity with them, all is well with him. But if he starts to disobey them, refusing at length to accept them, then even though outwardly he leads a life in conformity with them, because the law and society expect him to do so, he is governed by evil.

[4] This evil is what is meant by 'theft', to the extent that thief-like it usurps the position held previously by good. With many people it is thief-like to the extent that it takes away the forms of goodness and truth previously there and uses them to lend support to evils and falsities. So far as is possible with these people the Lord removes the forms of goodness and truth absorbed in early childhood from where these are to a more internal position, where - within the interior natural - He stores them away for future use. These forms of goodness and truth that are stored away within the interior natural are meant in the Word by 'the remnant', dealt with in 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284. But if evil steals the forms of goodness and truth there and uses them to lend support to evils and falsities, especially if it does so by the use of deceit, it destroys those remnants; for in this case it mingles evil with good, and falsity with truth, to such an extent that one cannot be separated from the other; and then a person is done for.

[5] The fact that 'theft' means the kinds of things mentioned above may be seen from the mere use of that word to refer to what constitutes a person's spiritual life. For the only riches in that life are cognitions of good and truth, and the only possessions and inheritances are the different forms of happiness in life which are gained from forms of good and from truths deriving from these. The stealing of such things, as stated above, is what 'theft' relates to in the spiritual sense, and therefore by the thefts mentioned in the Word nothing else is meant in the internal sense, as in Zechariah,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll. Then he said to me, This curse is going out over the face of the whole land, for everyone committing theft from now on, according to it, will be innocent, and everyone swearing falsely, according to it, will be innocent. I have cast it forth, that it may enter the house of the thief, and the house of him swearing falsely by My name, and may pass the night in his house and consume it, both its timbers and its stones. Zechariah 5:1-4.

Evil which takes away remnants of good is meant by 'one committing theft' and by 'the house of the thief', and falsity which takes away remnants of truth by 'one swearing falsely' and by 'the house of him swearing falsely'. 'The face of the whole land' stands for the whole Church, which is why the statement is made that the curse will consume the house, both its timbers and its stones - 'house' meaning the natural mind or a person so far as that mind is concerned, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 'timbers' the forms of good present there, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943, and 'stones' the truths, 643, 1298, 3720.

[6] Profanation and a consequent removal of goodness and truth are meant in the spiritual sense by the action of Achan, who took some of 'the devoted things' - a mantle of Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold - and hid them in the earth in the middle of his tent, on account of which he was stoned and everything was burned, as described in Joshua,

Jehovah said to Joshua, Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them, and have taken some of that which was devoted; they have committed theft, have lied, and have put it among their own vessels. Joshua 7:11, 12, 25.

'The devoted things' meant falsities and evils, which were not on any account to be mixed with anything holy. 'A mantle of Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold' in the spiritual sense are specific types of falsity. 'Hiding them in the earth in the middle of the tent' meant a mingling with things that are holy - for 'a tent' means that which is holy, see 414, 1102, 1566, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391, 4599. Such was the meaning of the declaration that they had committed theft, lied, and put [what was devoted] among their own vessels; for 'vessels' means holy truths, 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318.

[7] In Jeremiah,

I will bring the disaster ¹ of Esau upon him, the time I will visit him. If grape-gatherers come to you, will they not leave grape-gleanings? if thieves in the night, will they not destroy a sufficiency? I will strip Esau bare, I will uncover his secret places, and he will not be able to be concealed. His seed has been laid waste, and his brothers, and his neighbours; and he is no more. Jeremiah 49:8-10.

'Esau' stands for the evil of self-love to which falsities have been allied, 3322. The destruction by this evil of the remnants of good and truth is meant by the statements that 'thieves in the night will destroy a sufficiency' and that 'his seed has been laid waste, also his brothers and his neighbours, and he is no more'. 'Seed' stands for truths which are those of faith grounded in charity, 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3310, 3373; 'brothers' for forms of good which are those of charity, 367, 2360, 2508, 2524, 3160, 3303, 3459, 3815, 4121, 4191; 'neighbours' for the adjoining and related forms of truth and good which belong to it.

[8] A similar reference to Esau occurs in Obadiah,

If thieves come to you, if those who overturn in the night - how you will have been cut off! - will they not steal that which is enough for themselves? If grape-gatherers come to you, will they not leave some clusters? Obad. verse 5.

'Grape-gatherers' stands for falsities which are not a product of evil. These falsities do not destroy the forms of goodness and truth - that is, the remnants - stored away by the Lord in a person's interior natural. But falsities that are the product of evils do destroy them, for they steal forms of truth and good and also use them, through misapplication of them, to lend support to evils and falsities.

[9] In Joel,

A great and mighty people, like heroes they will run, like men of war they will scale the wall; and they will pass on, every one on his way. They will run about the city, they will run on the wall, they will climb into the houses, they will go in through the windows like a thief. Joel 2:7, 9.

'A great and mighty people' stands for falsities fighting against truths, 1259, 1260; and because they fight in a mighty way, by destroying truths, they are spoken of as 'heroes' and 'like men of war'. 'The city' through which they are said to run about stands for matters of doctrine regarding truth, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216; 'the houses which they will climb into' stands for the forms of good which they destroy, 710, 1708, 2048, 2233, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4982; 'the windows which they will go through' stands for intellectual concepts and for reasonings derived from these, 655, 658, 3391. This being so, those falsities are compared to a thief because they usurp the position held previously by truths and forms of good.

[10] In David,

Since you hate discipline and cast away My words behind you, if you see a thief you run with him, and your part is with adulterers. You open your mouth towards evil, and with your tongue you frame deceit. Psalms 50:17-19.

This refers to someone wicked, 'running with a thief' standing for his use of falsity to alienate truth from himself.

[11] In Revelation,

They did not repent of their murders, or of their enchantments, or of their whoredoms, or of their thefts. Revelation 9:21.

'Murders' stands for evils which destroy forms of good, 'enchantments' for falsities from these which destroy truths, 'whoredoms' for falsified truths, 'thefts' for forms of good that have consequently been alienated.

[12] In John,

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me he will be saved, and will go in, and will go out, and will find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. John 10:1-2, 8-10.

'A thief' in this instance also stands for the evil of merit-seeking, for anyone who takes away from the Lord that which is His and claims it as his own is called 'a thief'. This evil closes the path so as to prevent the flow of good and truth from the Lord, for which reason it is referred to as 'killing and destroying'. Much the same is meant in the Ten Commandments, at Deuteronomy 5:19, by You shall not steal, 4174. From all this one may see what is meant in the spiritual sense by the laws laid down in the Jewish Church regarding thefts, such as those at Exodus 21:16; 22:1-4; Deuteronomy 24:7; for all laws in that Church had their origin in the spiritual world, and they therefore correspond to the laws of order which exist in heaven.

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